Free Web NovelChapter 95: An Indirect "Ehrmm"
Hazy.
Despite the fact that it was in the middle of the afternoon when the sun was at its brightest, Hajime’s vision turned hazy as he felt a cruel choking feeling on his neck. His sight may be blurry, but the memory in his mind was crystal clear, and it could not get any detailed compared to how previously he remembered it.
The scene repeatedly tortured his mind like a broken cassette, repeating the accident, the deaths, and the truck that caused everything. Then there was the masked man by the front seat who seemingly got out of the truck after the accident. At one point, Hajime could’ve sworn that the masked man even glance back to confirm that he succeeded in the accident. freewebnøvel.coɱ
Throughout the entire ordeal, Hajime knew that he was as silent as a lamb, but who would’ve thought that he was groaning and howling in pain in the middle of the crowd?
Hajime.
Hajime.
For some odd reason, he kept hearing his name— a faint calling that seemed to emanate from the surface of the abyss while he was in its depths. His name grew louder and louder, but he couldn’t interact with it whatsoever. Unbeknownst to him, he was lost in the deepest parts of his mind, his repressed memory taking a hold of his consciousness as he ventured deeper and deeper into despair.
Hajime!
The voice was louder now like someone shouting directly in his ears. Hajime winced, but he still couldn’t tell where the sound came from. Everything was still hazy except for the memory that continuously replayed in his mind.
SLAP!
Hajime felt a stinging pain on his cheeks as his eyes blinked twice. His vision cleared and his bated breaths evened out. As for the choking feeling he felt, it was gone altogether. It all happened in an instant, in a split of a second, and there was only one person whom he could thank for it.
.....
Without thinking twice about whatever rumor that would circulate, Megumi knelt in front of Hajime, grabbing him by his face before calling him by name. She was panicking just like the two other security guards. At this rate, Hajime would choke himself to suffocation and everyone here would witness him losing consciousness.
He had already caused a huge scene in Ueno Park and Megumi didn’t want Hajime to embarrass himself any further. She started coaxing him, telling him to return, and to wake up— that everything would be okay.
"Hajime, snap out of it!" Megumi started tearing up. Hajime was suffering and that much was obvious.
And these people around them are not helping!
The ever-growing crowd hit a nerve on Megumi, causing her to fume in anger as she stood up. Shaking her fist wildly in the air, she announced. "There’s nothing to see here! If you want to watch something then go do that somewhere else!" She continued, even going as far as to grab one of the phones of the crowd and then smashing it to pieces.
Megumi couldn’t take it anymore. At this point, there was only one thing she could do. She brought her hand up and closed her eyes, then she went for a swing, slapping Hajime squarely on the left cheek as she followed through.
SLAP!
"Wha— ?!" Hajime got back to his senses as his grip on his throat softened. "What just happened?"
"You happened, stupid Hajime," Megumi hissed while forcefully grabbing Hajime by the arm and assisting him to the nearest bench.
"Megumi? What are you doing here?" Hajime was still a little bit out of it when he blurted out the question.
"You do still remember that we’re on a school trip, right? Seriously, what am I going to do with you." Megumi muttered, grabbing a water bottle from her bag and giving it to Hajime. "Here, drink."
"Thanks,"
Meanwhile, the crowd finally dispersed and the two security guards heaved a sigh of relief. They were initially worried for Hajime but now that he was fine, they decided to leave everything to Megumi after asking her a few questions. The guards then returned to their patrol when Megumi assured them that Hajime will be fine.
Hajime began to relax as he drank some water. Little by little, his mind started catching up to the events that followed after he left the Aoi Umi Dormitory. In an instant, Hajime’s face paled and he stared at Megumi for a good few seconds. ’That’s right, I was looking for her! What happened to me?’ He asked himself even though a slight throbbing headache still lingered on his head.
Pieces of the repressed memory then started appearing in Hajime’s head once again and he almost lost it for the second time. Fortunately, Megumi was there and he managed to catch himself before he fell into a state of panic and disarray. He sighed in relief before handing the water bottle back to Megumi. "Haah~ thanks," He continued.
Kaori and Shizuka, who had been watching the entire thing from afar all this time, decided that it would be best for them to ditch Megumi so she could deal with Hajime alone. They weren’t sure how well Hajime would react if the two of them suddenly showed up in front of his face so they opted for the safer and most comfortable option of leaving the two of them.
"I’ll leave her a message. Let’s wait for her at Ameyoko." Shizuka continued, dragging the curious Kaori away from there before she messed the situation up.
"But look! Aren’t they like... super duper close? W-whoa~!" Kaori exclaimed just when she felt the tug of Shizuka’s hand on hers.
"Let’s go," A grunt came out of Shizuka’s mouth.
Leaving Hajime and Megumi alone was the right decision though, but it came with missed opportunities. For one, they weren’t able to witness Megumi blushing as she realized that she handed Hajime her own water bottle, creating an indirect kiss event out of nowhere.
"Ihhh~~~" Megumi suddenly reddened much to Hajime’s obliviousness and perplexedness.
